how long did your baby wear mittens?

pennlexie · October 2010

My baby is 5 weeks old and I just took the mittens off her this week. I trimmed her nails so they would be short but she is still scratching (though with less damage) and even putting her fingers in her eyes. I don't want to delay her progress but she scratches all the time...when she's upset, when I am feeding her. Any thoughts or experience?

mollylila · October 2010

i never really used them- i tried but she hated them... I had to trim her nails right when we got home, and a few times since then.

LO gets at her face, but as long as they are trimmed, no scratches!

She3p · October 2010

I only put the mittens on him twice. I let him learn- but put them on him if he has more than two little scratches on his face. He's gotten a lot better at not ripping at his face now that he knows he has nails- but I "peel" them. Thats what the nurse showed me in the hospital, since their nails are so thin and flimsy. you bite the edge or snip it if you cant tear it. then peel it to the other end. Its an alternative to clipping so you dont accidently make them bleed. and it keeps them from being sharp on the edges too.

Aloe0l · October 2010

We left them on until about 2 weeks, when she was a little bigger and we felt more confident about cutting her nails. She still grabs & pokes at her eyes, usually while BFing. If we haven't cut her nails in awhile, I'll put them on while feeding her. I call them her "Breastfeeding Gloves"

She poked herself so hard in the eye one time she started crying while she was eating. I felt bad, but, you can't really do much to prevent it!

joolz425 · October 2010

she wore them for about 2 weeks until i got over my fear of trimming her tiny nails. i had my mommy friends do them for me at first and then i practiced. they grow so fast! i trim them about every other day now while i'm nursing or when she's sleeping.

historychick79 · October 2010

He never did. We had the sleeves with covers in the hospital, then clipped his nails for the first time the day we brought him home. We've been able to keep them pretty trimmed since then, and he's only scratched himself twice (once this weekend while wrestling with us trying to use saline and the nasal bulb, urgh).